More good news!
Marc Reisch has a two-page article in the October 22 issue of Chemical and Engineering News, entitled "Funding Startups". A subtitle says, "Investor network gears up to offer seed capital, advice to nascent chemical businesses".
The article is actually broader in concept than the subtitle implies. The accent is entrepreneurship and specifically the startup of small businesses.
Today's climate has three advantages for such startups. First, universities are eager to commercialize any technology that they have developed through research. Second, retired scientists with the investing bug are ready to risk a little more and help startup businesses become more than concepts. Lastly, in today's slow economy many late career scientists are looking for jobs and are eager for opportunity.
The total approach involves the Angel Resource Institute, a nonprofit information clearinghouse for early-stage investing. The clearinghouse lists 329 Angel investor groups in North America. Each investment of an Angel Group involves approximately $100 thousand in seed money to help launch a new business. Subsequently, when the new business has gathered momentum, venture capitalists come in and are able to supply millions of dollars raised from wealthy individuals and institutions.
Of the total number of Angel deals, about 32% involves new Internet businesses and about 20% health care, although the essence of the ACS article is on a new program to foster chemical startups.
Without going into unnecessary detail, the main point of this writing is that there is a significant private program for the development of new businesses and entrepreneurship in general, which does not involve government.
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